Boat-propelling device



Dec. 18, 1928.

C. P. TURNER BOAT PROPELLING' DEVICE Filed Aug. 23, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1,695,304 c. P. TURNER BOAT PROPELLING DEVICE Filed Aug.25, 192s ZSheets-Sheet 2 mmm Patented Dec. 18, 1928.

UNITED STATES CHARLES I. TURNER, O1? MISI-IAWAKA, INDIANA.

BOAT-PROPELLING DEVICE.

Application filed August 23, 1926. SerialNb. 130,815.

This invention relates to a device which may be readily applied to a row boat and by means of which a person may propel. the

boat withhis feet andthus have both hands free for casting while fishing, thus doing away with the bother of laying down the fishing rod and taking up the oars to move the boat a few yards for another cast, as heretofore.

One object of my invention is to provide a device which may be readily and quickly applied to and removed from a boat and be arranged in a compact form for packing in a suitcase for carrying and storage.

Another object of my invention is to make the device relatively light in weight for portable purposes and simple and inexpensive in construction and attachable to any ordlnary row boat without the use of tools or fittings of any kind in the boat to receive it.

The invention consists further in thematters hereinafter described and claimed" In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 1s a perspective view of a propelhng device constructed in accordance with my invention and shown mounted in a boat in position for use; 1

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the upper and of the stand of the pedal assembly to show how the brace member is connected there with.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the device just in front of the seat and 1001;- ing toward the same.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken through the support of the propelling mechanism at its clamp; and

Figs. 5 and 6 are vertical and horizontal sectional views, respectively, taken on lines 55 and 6'6 of Fig. 1.

In Fig. 1, I have shown the rear or stern portion of an ordinary rowboat havlng a flat bottom wall 1, upright side and end wall 2, 2 and 3 and a rear seat 4L just inside of the end wall 3 and extending between the side walls 2, 2 as in row boat construction.

The device of my invention comprises gen- J erally a pedal assembly for furnishing the power, a seat to accommodate the operator, and a propelling mechanism including a rudder for moving and steering the boat, respectively. These several parts or portions of my improved device are separate elements of the complete assembly and have a detachable connection with the boat so that the entire device may be removed therefrom shaft as shown. fastenings on the bottom 1 of the boat and and be packed in a suit-case for convenient carrying and storage.

The pedal assembly consists of a threelegged stand 5 adapted to restwithin the boat on thebottom 1 thereof forward of the seat 41, as shown in Fig. 1. The upper end of the stand 5 is made to provide a suitable bearing 6 fora horizontal shaft 7 running on ball bearings as in bicycle practice. Bicycle pedals 8,8 are connected with the op posite ends of this shaft for turning the same, there being a sprocket wheel 9on' the The stand 5 rests without maintains the shaft? and pedals 8 at the desired height above the bottom of the boat.

The stand 5 is spaced in front of the seat 1 the required distance to be within con- .venient reach of the feet of the operator by a fork-shaped brace 10 preferably made of A light brass tubing. The brace 10' eX- tends from'the stand 5 toward the rear of the boat and has its forward end at the stand pivotally connected therewith by a pin 11 with a lug-12 on the bearing 6, as

shown in Fig. '2. The side arms of the fork 10 are close together at their forward 7 ends so as to be connected with the stand while their rear ends are spread apart so as to grip two of the vertical supports 13,13 vof the seat member 14% of the device, as

shown in Fig. 3. The rear ends of these arms are .apertured to engagepins 15, 15' on said supports, as shown. The brace 10 holds the stand from lateral as well as dis placement endwise of the boat so that pressure may be applied to the pedals without moving the stand.

The'seat 14 is preferably constructed of i wood and has flat top and bottom walls 16, 16 between which are a number of supaorts, includingthe pair 13, 13 as shown in Fig. 3. Two rubber faced guide rollers 17, 17 are journaled in said supports 13, 13 and extend between them, said rollers being vertically. spaced as shown. The seat 14-. is clamped'to the rear cross-seat 4. of the boat in any suitable manner, two C-clamps 18, 18 being shown for the purpose in the drawings.

The boat propelling mechanism has a support 19 which may 'take'the form of a tapered rectangular housing either of sheet metal or cast aluminum. This housing or support is long enough to extend above and below the boat at its rear end when applied thereto For clamping the housing 19 on the end wall 3, I provide a clamp 20 which fits over the upper edge or" said Well. The housing 19 extends vertically between a pair of arms 21, 21 carried by the clamp said arms being clamped against the opposite sides of the housing by ZL ClZHDP bolt at their outer ends, as shown in Fig. 4. Both arms carry a pair of inwardly extending pins 22, 22 to engage in apertures or holes 23, 23 in the sides of the housing. These holes are arranged to extend in rows l ngthwise of the housing (see Fig. 1) so that the housing inay be adjusted 'up' or down forpositioning its upper and lower ends the distance req'u red above and below the upper and lower edges, respectively, of said end wall 3.

y The upper end 01 um housing 19 carries a horizontal shaft 2st 011 which revolves a sleeve carrying a sp'rocl'ret wheel 25 and a grooved pulley 26, respectively, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. The sprocket wheel 25 receives a sprocket chain 27 which leads o and about the sprocket wheel 9 on the pedal shaft 7. This chain allows power to be transmitted from shaft 7 to the sprocket 25 V and pulley 26 on operating the pedals 8, as

"shown.

At the lower end of the housing 19 (which is in the waterwhen the device is in use) is a horizontal shal't 28 arranged at right angles to the shaft 24 and having fixed to it a grooved pulley 2;),as clearly snown in Fig. 6. A round rubber belt 30 extends betweenand is run over the upper and lower pulleys 26, 29, and when operated by the rotation of the upperpulley 26 through the sprocketchain 2? drives a bladed propeller 31 fixed to the lower shaft 28 to move the boat through the water. The belt 30 is turned through 90 inside of the housi so as to run over the upper and lower leys 26, 29 whose axes are at right angles, as shown. I I

At the rear of the housing 19 and extendin alonr the same is a rudder oost or red 32:

#3 c I l mounted on the housing by brackets 33, 33. At the lower end of this post a rudder blade 3 1 to steer the boat while at the upper fend 01 this rod is steering hai'idle 35. The

brackets clamp the post 352 sufiicicntly tight to hold the rudder blade in a uy positioninto which it is set by the handle 35.

in use the operator occupies the rear seat ll and propels the boat by turning the pedals 8 with his feet. He may set the rudder 3% to steer the boat in the direction he wishes to go, and has both hands free for casting during fishing while still bein able to readily andeasily inovo the boat another Without being required to lay down the rod and take up the cars to more the boat several yards for the next east as when are used. This will make iny device ap articular-tyre fishermen as the bother of using oars, as heretofore, s avoided, yet the boat inay be readily propelled at rowing speed without stopping or hindering the casting operations; The propeller 31 will make decidedly less commotion in the water than cars and very decidedly less than an outboard ,motor.

The device may be readily removed from a boat by springing; the arms oi the fork 10 oil of the pins 15 and then disconnecting the fork from the stand 5 by ren'ioving the pin 11; The seat 14 and the housing 19 may be removed by unclainpf 3; their clamps from the boat and the chain slipped off the sprock ets and the entire device packed in a suit case to carrying either by hand or on the ruin. a board of a motor car. The parts may be built rather light so as to weigh not over 1/5 or 30 pounds when packed. The parts maybe quickly set up in a boat without boring any holes or inserting any bolts or screws in the boat, thereby making the device universal in that it may be used with any boat without requiring special fittings as part of the boat itself.

The details of structure shown and described ina y be variously changed and modified-without departing" from the spirit and scope of my invention.

V I claim as my invention- 1. In a foot operable boat propelling de vice, the combin 'on with a seat, of a pedal assembly in front of said seat and having a supporting stand to rest on the ZlJGti'Oil'l of the boat forward of said seat, a brace con necting the stand to and maintaining it spaced from said seat, said brace having a fork end at said seat and engaging over pins carried by the seat for releasably connecting the brace thereto and a propelling mechanism to the rear of said sp and connected with the pedal assembly 101' operation thereby.

2. in a foot operable boat propelling device the coinliiination with a seat of a pedal assembly in frontof said seat and havinga su 'ip'oi-ting stand to rest on the bottom of a boat forward of said seat, means connecting the stand to and maintaining it spaced from said seat a propeller mechanism to the rear oi. said scat, an endless driving element passing under the seat and connecting the propeller mechanism with the pedal assembly for operation thereby, and means carried by the seat beneath the same for "guiding and supporting; the portion of the drivii D element pas y under sale seat.

'3. In a foot operable boat propelling device, the combination with a seat having; no right supports beneath the same, of a pedal assembly in front oi said seat and having: a sprocket wheel, means connecting the pedal assembly to and maintaining itspaced from said seat a propeller mechanism to the rear seat having a sprocket wheel, a

sprocket chain connecting said sprocket wheels and passing beneath said seat, between the under supports thereof, and rollers carried by said supports for supporting and guiding the portion of the chainpassing under said seat.

4. In a manually operable boat propelling mechanism, the combination with a vertically disposed support, of a. clamp for clamping said support to the rear end of a boat, shafts at the upper and lower ends of said support and arranged at right angles to each other, a propeller and a pulley on the lower shaft, a pulley on the upper shaft, a driving L belt extending along said support and connecting said pulleys and a rudder carried by said support.

5. In a foot operable boat propelling device, the combination with a seat adapted to be clamped to the rear seat of a row boat,

a pedal assembly disposed in the boat in I front of the rear seattthereof and having a stand to rest on the bottom of the boat, a brace connecting the stand with and maintaining it spaced from said seat, and a propelling mechanism clamped to the rear of the boat and connected with said pedal as sembly for operation thereby, said device being made relatively light in Weight and completely removable from the boat and separable for packing in a suit case for carrying.

6. A foot operable propelling attachment for row and like boats, comprising a drivers seat adapted to be detachably secured to the rear seat of the boat, a pedal assembly disposed in the boat in front of both seats, said pedal assembly having a supporting stand to rest on the bottom of the boat, means connecting the stand to and maintaining it spaced from said drivers seat, a

propeller adapted to be positioned to the rear of the boat on the outside thereof, and 7 seat having upright supports beneath the same and adapted to be detachably secured to the rear seat of the boat, a pedal assembly disposed in the boat in front of both seats, said pedal assembly having a supporting stand to rest on the bottom of the boat,

means connecting the stand to and maintaining it spaced from the drivers seat, a

propeller located outside of the boat to the rear thereof, and power transmitting means passing beneath the drivers seat between its supports and connecting the propeller with the pedal assembly for operation thereby.

8. A foot operable. propelling attachment for row and like boats, comprising a drivers seat adapted to be detaohably secured to a rear part of the boat, pedal assembly to be positioned in the boat in front of said seat,

said pedal assembly having a stand to rest on the bottom of the boat, a brace connecting the stand with and maintaining it spaced from said seat, a propeller to be located outside of the boat at the rear end thereof, power transmitting means connecting the propeller with the pedal assembly for operation thereby, and a rudder for the attachment, said attachment being made relatively lightvin weight and having all a parts completely removable from the boat and separable for packing into a compact form for carrying and storage.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature this 19 day of August, 1926.

CHARLES P. TURNER. 

